French-Canadian scientist wins ‘Oscars of Science’ prize for cancer treatment

French-Canadian scientist Michel Sadelain was awarded an “Oscars of Science” prize in Los Angeles on Saturday for his research into genetically modifying immune cells to fight cancer.

Sadelain’s scientific work has led to the development of a new form of therapy called CAR-T that has shown exceptional efficacy against certain blood cancers.

The genetic engineer was awarded the Breakthrough Prize, which was launched in 2010, and is dedicated to “the world’s most brilliant minds” in fields including life sciences, fundamental physics and mathematics.

After moving to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Sadelain developed a way to use a disabled virus to genetically reprogram human T-cells, so that they grew claw-like structures called antigen receptors, allowing the T-cells to target specific cancer cells.

Beyond recognizing the cancer, these Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cells, as Sadelain named them, were also given genetic instructions to enter a killing mode and to multiply, growing an army inside the body to eliminate the enemy.

Around 20 other scientists were honored on Saturday at the Breakthrough Prize, in various categories.